The dice are public. Above your head, where everyone can see what you deserve.
The Core Roll
Roll a d20 + attribute against a DC (tasks) or the target’s Defense (8 + Grace). Attacks and checks are the same verb; there is no second dice system.
Boons and Banes
Circumstances grant Boons (advantages) and Banes (disadvantages):
- Cancel 1:1. Boons and Banes annihilate each other first.
- Whatever remains adds extra d20s — uncapped.
- Net Boons: roll them all, keep best. Net Banes: keep worst.
There is no pool cap and no cost to giving: every Boon you hand an ally simply feels good to give and to receive. Teamwork is the primary Boon engine — flanking and auras are free (no action), so cooperating never competes with swinging.
Where the dice come from
| Boons (attacker rolls more, keeps best) | Banes (attacker keeps worst) |
|---|---|
| Target is Marked — every ally gains one | Attacker is Slowed |
| Target is Exposed (one per stack) | Attacker is Shaken |
| Attacker is Hidden | Target is braced in the Guard stance |
| Bolstered — banked Boons, spent on your next swing, hit or miss | Situational: darkness, bad footing, the dungeon’s opinion |
| Flanking, assists, situational advantage |
Criticals
- Every natural 20 in a keep-best pool counts. Three dice, three 20s — three crits, and effects stack (additively, never multiplying).
- Under net Banes, only the kept die can crit — a bad situation never raises your crit odds.
- Crits are source-defined: every attack source carries an
onCritthat says what its crit does (the Hedge-Mage’s Emberbolt Ignites; a maul Sunders). Crits compound rather than merely doubling numbers — see the crit vocabulary in 01 Weapons.
Fumbles
A natural 1 on the kept die is an automatic miss, whatever your total — and it leaves you Exposed until your own next activation. The dungeon notices you.
Why Support Beats Attacking
The design question isn’t “how do we stop Boon stacking” — it’s “why would I ever support instead of attack?” The answer is the window: see 03 The Stagger Window. During a window, supporting is plainly the strongest thing on the board.